In The Spotlight
The researchers built a reaction chamber and devised a method that simulates and greatly accelerates methane's natural degradation process. (Image source: Michael Skov Jensen, SCIENCE/KU)
A recent study led by the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) atmospheric chemistry professor, Matthew Stanley Johnson brought to the spotlight, a new method devised by researchers to eradicate low-concentration methane from air
A new Methane Eradication Photochemical System (MEPS) reaction chamber, comprising an elongated metal box with heaps of hoses and measuring instruments, was built. Using chlorine and energy from light, researchers were successful in removing methane from air at a greater speed and efficiency compared to its natural decomposition rate in the atmosphere. Inside the box, a chain reaction of chemical compounds takes place, which breaks down the methane and removes a large portion of the gas from air.
"Methane decomposes at a snail's pace because the gas isn’t especially happy about reacting with other things in the atmosphere," explained Johnson. "However, we have discovered that, with the help of light and chlorine, we can trigger a reaction and break down the methane roughly 100 million times faster than in nature."
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has determined that reducing methane gas emissions—which are considered to be 85 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than CO2—will immediately reduce the rise in global temperatures.
With the development of their new MEPS reaction chamber, the researchers plan to connect the device to the ventilation system in a livestock barn, where it will behave as a methane cleaner. A 40 ft shipping container will soon arrive at the Department of Chemistry and will become a larger prototype of the reaction chamber that the researchers built in the laboratory. The UCPH spin-out company Ambient Carbon, started and now headed by Johnson is currently developing the MEPS technology and plans to make it available to society in the near future.
For more information, visit: https://science.ku.dk/
The implementation of this system across its poultry farms has greatly helped in raising Thai poultry standards. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
As part of its innovative strategy to safeguard poultry production, Thailand-based Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) recently adopted the compartment scheme, thereby assuring disease-free poultry operations
The compartment system involves implementing strict biosafety and disease surviellance standards to maintain a closed-farm environment. To minimise the risk of diseases like Avian Influenza (AI) and Newcastle Disease (ND), veterinary specialists carry out regular pathogen tests for bird flu, Salmonella and the Newcastle virus. Through this initiative, the company highlights the importance of food safety both for raw and cooked products.
The disease control strategy of the compartment system is based on four pillars including, rigorous biosecurity measures, proactive bird flu surveillance, specific disease control within farms and surrounding areas, and a traceability system to monitor the food chain. By employing advanced closed house facilities comprising an evaporative cooling system, CP Foods leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT for week-long animal health monitoring, thus significantly reducing disease risk through minimal human contact.
The implementation of this system across its poultry farms has greatly helped in raising Thai poultry standards through knowledge transfer, contract farming, and standardised disease prevention measures. Besides improving the overall resilence of the Thai poultry sector and economy, the implementation of the compartment system also enhances farm yields and income stability for farmers.
For more information, visit: https://www.cpfworldwide.com/
Examination of fatty acid and sterol compositions are the most common analytical methods used to identify adulterated products. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
As the olive oil industry continues to face unprecedented challenges, there has been a gradual increase in fraudulent activities involving the sale of counterfeit mixtures that closely resemble authentic olive oil
The Mediterranean region responsible for the majority of the world's extra-virgin olive oil production has been hit by a severe drought, resulting in significant reductions in output from countries like Spain, Tunisia, Greece and Italy. This scenario has led to a dramatic surge in prices, in turn attracting counterfeiters who are exploiting the situation by introducing fake products into the market. With more than 260,000 litres of fake olive oil seized in Italy and Spain, Europol's recent investigations have shed light on the alarming prevalence of counterfeit olive oil within the market.
Fraudulant schemes like these involve the substitution of high-quality olive oil with cheaper, inferior seed oils that are manipulated with additives like chlorophyll and carotenoids to mimic the appearance of authentic olive oil, thus deceiving the unsuspecting consumer. Mixing olive oil with lower-quality lampante oil is another method used to dilute the purity of olive oil while reducing costs. This not only compromises the quality but also misleads consumers about the product they are purchasing. Extra-virgin olive oil, a popular staple in culinary traditions has therefore, come under scrutiny wordwide, urging consumers and restauranteurs alike to exercise caution and vigilance.
The presence of polyphenols are responsible for olive oil's unique flavour profiles, ranging from sweet to bitter or zesty. These compounds not only contribute to the oil's taste but also offer numerous health benefits. Characteristics like taste and aroma that are distinctive to authentic olive oil cannot be replicated by seed oils. However, distinguishing genuine olive oil from fraudulent mixtures can be challenging. Examination of fatty acid and sterol compositions are the most common analytical methods used to identify adulterated products.
Moreover, since certain countries do allow the sale of blended oils, it is extremely important for consumers to carefully examine product labels for harvest dates, locations and certification seals from reputable third-party organisations, prior to selecting extra-virgin olive oil. Advances in technology, such as blockchain systems for traceability, offer promising solutions for enhancing transparency in the olive oil supply chain. However, the effectiveness of these tools is contingent upon consumer awareness and engagement.
The Indo-US Millets Initiative aims to raise awareness about the benefits of millets and sorghum and increase and exchange research regarding their implementation into current food systems. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Sorghum United CEO, Nate Blum discusses the recent launch of the Indo-US Millets initiative that is bringing together major players across India and the US, to unlock the potential of resilient, nutrition-packed crops called millets
In a world grappling with the ever-increasing challenges of climate change, food security has become a paramount concern. With extreme weather events, water scarcity, and rising temperatures to contend with, it is imperative that we find climate-resilient agricultural solutions for the future to support our growing population.
Many of the crops that we heavily rely on today, such as rice, wheat, and maize, are vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Studies predict that maize production will drop 15-20% in North and South America by 2050, which could have a devastating effect on the population. Rice is a staple for nearly half of our population, yet rising temperatures could result in a 40% decrease in rice yields by 2100. In Africa and South Asia, where food security is already a significant concern, wheat yield is predicted to lower 15-16% by the middle of the century.
But all is not lost. The Indo-US Millets Initiative, a collaborative effort between organisations in India and the United States, has been launched to help solve these pressing food production issues. Spearheaded by several organisations across both countries, including the North American Millets Alliance, India Millets Initiative, Sorghum United, and the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, the initiative aims to raise awareness about the benefits of millets and sorghum and increase and exchange research regarding their implementation into current food systems.
Despite being overshadowed for so long, millets and sorghum offer numerous nutritional and environmental benefits, and it’s time we take advantage of them. These grains have a significantly higher tolerance to drought and heat than maize, wheat, and rice, making them more reliable crops as global temperatures continue to elevate. Moreover, millets and sorghum require 30% less water than current staple crops, holding the potential to reduce water irrigation demand by 33%. In addition, they also provide numerous health benefits that wheat, rice and maize lack.
As the Indo-US Millets Initiative works to bring millets and sorghum back into the limelight, there are several challenges to overcome. In order to increase the production of these grains, there is a pressing need for additional research into developing high-yielding seed varieties and efficient processing strategies as well as technical support for farmers. Public access and awareness must also be increased in order to incentivise these important steps.
The United Nations declared 2023 the 'International Year of Millets,' demonstrating an increasing interest in exploring millets as a weapon against food insecurity. With the initiative and other millets programmes, such as the Alternative Crops Lab, based in Nebraska, the area is poised to take the lead as a hub for millets and sorghum research and development within the US. Recently, experiments have been greenlighted to study the contrast in greenhouse gas emissions from maize and millets, and new varieties of millets have been tested in Nebraska’s climate. There have also been efforts to begin studies of consumer demand and farmer profitability.
Given the uncertainties surrounding future food production and the challenges posed by climate change, the importance of investigating millets and sorghum as viable solutions cannot be overstated. As these grains gain renewed popularity, they illuminate a sustainable path toward improving global health and securing food stability.
For more information, visit: https://sorghumunited.com/
Key outcomes of the meeting included the development of plans for establishing Centres of Excellence on Millets in major millet-producing countries. (Image source: ICRISAT)
Representatives from the global south gathered in Dubai from 25-26 March, to convene a collective action plan to secure the future of millets
High-level representatives from leading millet-producing countries in the global south including India, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Malawi, alongside prominent organisations such as the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), and the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), came together to devise strategies for strengthened collaboration under a shared vision of resilience for the drylands.
Key outcomes of the meeting included the development of plans for establishing Centers of Excellence on Millets in major millet-producing countries, that envision to serve as hubs for innovation, research, and knowledge exchange, driving sustainable crop production, resilient value chains, and broader consumer access to affordable and nutritious millet-based diets. The convening also served as a platform to reaffirm a shared commitment to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the global south, particularly by supporting food security, poverty eradication, and environmental sustainability.
“It is important that we build on the momentum and legacy of the International Year of Millets 2023 (IYM2023) to ensure the world has access to millets, which are Smart Food with the ability to feed and nourish the planet amid growing global populations, increasing temperatures and climatic events,” remarked director general of ICRISAT, Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes.
For more information, visit: https://www.icrisat.org/
The certification marks the first ASC Feed Standard awarded in Asia.
Thai Union has become the latest feed company to achieve ASC Feed Standard certification for its Mahachai Plant in Thailand, marking the first time this certification has been awarded in Asia
Global trends in egg production have continued to evolve toward more humane and sustainable practices. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
A new survey has revealed that more than 80% of Malaysians favour humane farming, urging Chinese and Malaysian egg producers to hold a collaborative education and sharing session on 8 May, to discuss the growing market opportunity in cage-free egg production
Hosted by the Beijing Egg Industry Association, consultancy Lever China, and international NGO Lever Foundation, the event entitled, 'Sino-Malaysia Cage-Free Egg Symposium: Unlocking Success Together,' aims to equip Malaysian egg producers with insights from leading Chinese egg producers in China who have expanded to include cage-free production in response to growing corporate and consumer demand.
The event comes as a new survey conducted by GMO Research finds that an overwhelming 83% agree that food companies should source their eggs from a supply chain that adheres to humane standards of animal treatment. Additionally, nearly 60% of Malaysian consumers said they were more inclined to patronise a food brand that sourced only cage-free eggs and more than 60% were also willing to pay more for cage-free eggs if they were slightly more expensive than traditional caged eggs.
Based on current corporate commitments in Malaysia, Lever Foundation predicts that the demand for cage-free eggs will increase by 395 million eggs per year within the next several years.Global trends in egg production have continued to evolve toward more humane and sustainable practices, as numerous studies by the European Food Safety Authority and others have consistently found cage-free production to have far lower rates of salmonella contamination, making them healthier and safer for consumers.
"In addition to the increasing demand from consumers for cage-free eggs, a growing number of food companies have committed to only source eggs from cage-free supply chains, which will require an increase in cage-free production in the Malaysian market," said Vilosha Sivaraman, Sustainability Programme manager at Lever Foundation, which supports food companies in Malaysia transition toward cage-free eggs.
For more information about the event, visit: https://form.evenesis.com/cage-free2024
Examination of fatty acid and sterol compositions are the most common analytical methods used to identify adulterated products. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
As the olive oil industry continues to face unprecedented challenges, there has been a gradual increase in fraudulent activities involving the sale of counterfeit mixtures that closely resemble authentic olive oil
The Mediterranean region responsible for the majority of the world's extra-virgin olive oil production has been hit by a severe drought, resulting in significant reductions in output from countries like Spain, Tunisia, Greece and Italy. This scenario has led to a dramatic surge in prices, in turn attracting counterfeiters who are exploiting the situation by introducing fake products into the market. With more than 260,000 litres of fake olive oil seized in Italy and Spain, Europol's recent investigations have shed light on the alarming prevalence of counterfeit olive oil within the market.
Fraudulant schemes like these involve the substitution of high-quality olive oil with cheaper, inferior seed oils that are manipulated with additives like chlorophyll and carotenoids to mimic the appearance of authentic olive oil, thus deceiving the unsuspecting consumer. Mixing olive oil with lower-quality lampante oil is another method used to dilute the purity of olive oil while reducing costs. This not only compromises the quality but also misleads consumers about the product they are purchasing. Extra-virgin olive oil, a popular staple in culinary traditions has therefore, come under scrutiny wordwide, urging consumers and restauranteurs alike to exercise caution and vigilance.
The presence of polyphenols are responsible for olive oil's unique flavour profiles, ranging from sweet to bitter or zesty. These compounds not only contribute to the oil's taste but also offer numerous health benefits. Characteristics like taste and aroma that are distinctive to authentic olive oil cannot be replicated by seed oils. However, distinguishing genuine olive oil from fraudulent mixtures can be challenging. Examination of fatty acid and sterol compositions are the most common analytical methods used to identify adulterated products.
Moreover, since certain countries do allow the sale of blended oils, it is extremely important for consumers to carefully examine product labels for harvest dates, locations and certification seals from reputable third-party organisations, prior to selecting extra-virgin olive oil. Advances in technology, such as blockchain systems for traceability, offer promising solutions for enhancing transparency in the olive oil supply chain. However, the effectiveness of these tools is contingent upon consumer awareness and engagement.
The Indo-US Millets Initiative aims to raise awareness about the benefits of millets and sorghum and increase and exchange research regarding their implementation into current food systems. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Key outcomes of the meeting included the development of plans for establishing Centres of Excellence on Millets in major millet-producing countries. (Image source: ICRISAT)
The researchers built a reaction chamber and devised a method that simulates and greatly accelerates methane's natural degradation process. (Image source: Michael Skov Jensen, SCIENCE/KU)
A recent study led by the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) atmospheric chemistry professor, Matthew Stanley Johnson brought to the spotlight, a new method devised by researchers to eradicate low-concentration methane from air
A new Methane Eradication Photochemical System (MEPS) reaction chamber, comprising an elongated metal box with heaps of hoses and measuring instruments, was built. Using chlorine and energy from light, researchers were successful in removing methane from air at a greater speed and efficiency compared to its natural decomposition rate in the atmosphere. Inside the box, a chain reaction of chemical compounds takes place, which breaks down the methane and removes a large portion of the gas from air.
"Methane decomposes at a snail's pace because the gas isn’t especially happy about reacting with other things in the atmosphere," explained Johnson. "However, we have discovered that, with the help of light and chlorine, we can trigger a reaction and break down the methane roughly 100 million times faster than in nature."
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has determined that reducing methane gas emissions—which are considered to be 85 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than CO2—will immediately reduce the rise in global temperatures.
With the development of their new MEPS reaction chamber, the researchers plan to connect the device to the ventilation system in a livestock barn, where it will behave as a methane cleaner. A 40 ft shipping container will soon arrive at the Department of Chemistry and will become a larger prototype of the reaction chamber that the researchers built in the laboratory. The UCPH spin-out company Ambient Carbon, started and now headed by Johnson is currently developing the MEPS technology and plans to make it available to society in the near future.
For more information, visit: https://science.ku.dk/
The implementation of this system across its poultry farms has greatly helped in raising Thai poultry standards. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
The certification marks the first ASC Feed Standard awarded in Asia.
Monarch MK-V tractor demonstrating V2G through Borg Warner DCFC and Gridtractor CMS. (Image source: Gridtractor)
Gridtractor, Monarch Tractor, and Borg Warner have achieved a significant milestone by successfully demonstrating Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) capabilities utilising a Monarch MK-V tractor, a Borg Warner 60 kW DC fast charger, and Gridtractor’s cloud-based charge management system employing the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP)
The platform is slated for launch later this year and focuses on both domestic and international markets. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
The LightWeeder is an agri-robot that can kill weeds using a unique concentrated light method. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
AFIA presents the award to ADM’s Bluffton Plant (Image source: AFIA)
The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), in collaboration with Feedstuffs, has named ADM’s animal nutrition feed facility in Bluffton, as its 2023 Premix/Ingredient Feed Facility of the Year
The award was presented to plant manager, Brent Weedman during AFIA’s Purchasing and Ingredient Suppliers Conference that took place in San Antonio.
In response to fluctuating markets, the Bluffton facility has made a strategic shift to manufacturing premixes.
ADM North America director of Animal Nutrition, Junior Rogers expressed pride in their Bluffton Team. “We have introduced DRR in all of our facilities and Bluffton continues to drive continuous improvement,” he stated. “The DRRs are designed to keep visibility and balance in our metrics. This ensures we remain focused and urgent to service our customers.”
For more information, visit: https://www.adm.com/ and https://www.afia.org
Retailers, distributors, and food processors can completely eliminate manual, sample-destroying inspections using Neolithics Light. (Image source: Neolithics)
An Agtonomy software and tele-guidance embedded tractor with a front-mounted Agtonomy Smart Toolbar attachment. (Image source: Agtonomy)
The Ambassador was impressed with the projects implementation and advised DA-10 to continue optimising the Smart Greenhouse operation. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
The training course aimed to accelerate safer cattle trade between the two countries and improve cattle export to China. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Seafood exports to key markets such as the United States, China, and Japan have all significantly decreased. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
While not a threat to human health, LSD and FMD are highly infectious viral diseases that affect cattle and other livestock. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
The programme aims to introduce targets and innovative practices for greening agriculture. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
This new loan aims to support the Philippines’ efforts to attain food security by building a competitive and inclusive agriculture sector. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Quintect 105SC fungicide has a unique mode of action and strong efficacy on oomycetes disease control. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
The researchers built a reaction chamber and devised a method that simulates and greatly accelerates methane's natural degradation process. (Image source: Michael Skov Jensen, SCIENCE/KU)
The implementation of this system across its poultry farms has greatly helped in raising Thai poultry standards. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Examination of fatty acid and sterol compositions are the most common analytical methods used to identify adulterated products. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
The Indo-US Millets Initiative aims to raise awareness about the benefits of millets and sorghum and increase and exchange research regarding their implementation into current food systems. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
Key outcomes of the meeting included the development of plans for establishing Centres of Excellence on Millets in major millet-producing countries. (Image source: ICRISAT)
The certification marks the first ASC Feed Standard awarded in Asia.
Global trends in egg production have continued to evolve toward more humane and sustainable practices. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
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